Kick Off!

Start celebrating National Poetry Month with two nationally renowned performance poets.

Witty “Standup Poet” Jack McCarthy was on the Boston team at the ‘96 National Poetry Slam and an engaging minor character in the feature film, Slamnation, which documented the event. He has published two books, two chapbooks, and a CD, Breaking Down Outside a Gas Station, featuring several of his famous “Cartalk” poems. He now lives in Washington State.

Roger Bonair-Agard, a native of Trinidad and Tobago and a Brooklynite for 17 years, has been a professional performance poet since ‘97. He has taught and performed throughout the U.S. and been in festivals and concerts from Germany to South Africa to Alaska.

The author or co-author of several books and shows, Bonair-Agard also co-founded the louderARTS Project, an organization dedicated to the evolution of poetry through the craft of writing and performance. He and teams he coaches excel at slams, and in 1999 he was National Individual Slam Champion.

Introductions provided by four-time National Slam winner Patricia Smith, now of Tarrytown and teacher of an HVWC class on performance poetry starting April 7.

All readings include a question & answer period and a reception with books by the author(s) for sale.

Suggested Donation: $5 ($3 for HVWC members and those under age 18)

The readings at the HVWC are made possible in part by a grant from the Bydale Foundation; the David G. Taft Foundation; the Orchard Foundation; and the Thendara Foundation; with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and by Westchester Arts Council with funds from Westchester County Government, corporations and individuals.

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